Spring risotto recipe

A spring vegan risotto is particularly appealing to us; it's a perfect combination of the crispness of a salad and the pure contentment of a risotto. Feeling as if you have one foot in late winter and the other foot in early spring? Spring risottos are the culinary equivalent of a light cashmere sweater that allows you to exist gracefully in the limbo between seasons.

Evergreen greens

We are also big fans of mixed green seasonal vegetables and herbs. Combining greens in dishes accentuates their shared energetic flavour, while also bringing out the distinct character of each. It's a direction that keeps sprouting new blossoms of enjoyment as this vegetable or that comes into season. A green soup with chopped tomato is a wonderfully light starter or lunch, or you could always combine green vegetables into a warm salad for a fresh, easy weekday supper. Sage, basil, rosemary, parsley, dill... each of these green herbs would bring an entirely different, but equally tantalising slant to your dish of choice.

Mix it up

A plant-based milk brings creaminess to your vegan risotto; if your mood calls for something tangier, opt for vegetable stock. Liquidising some of your greens and ladling that into your rice would lend an attractive, grassy tint to your concoction. We have been using barley instead of rice in our risottos of late, and it gives us all the pleasure of the more traditional arborio or carnaroli rices listed in this recipe, along with extra fibre. Casting about for another idea for a light vegan risotto? Try rosemary, lemon, spinach, and beet risotto topped with Erbology Hemp Seed Oil.  Boil your beetroot, then remove the beautifully fuschia orbs. Mix vegetable stock or plant-based milk into the beet water and ladle that into your grain of choice for a lovely pink risotto.      But we're getting ahead of ourselves here! To come back to this pleasing spring green vegan risotto: the addition of Sicilian almonds on top lends extra texture that means you won't feel the absence of parmesan. There are few things more gratifying than good asparagus. This delicate, dignified vegetable needs to be accompanied well so that the light flavour is properly framed. Parsley is a classic pairing that brings out the freshness of both ingredients, while spinach adds body without overwhelming with taste. Spring onions bring just the right amount of gentle tang that reminds you spring is all about new growth and bursting forth.

Your shopping list

Although you will know that we promote buying organic whenever possible, we also realise this can be tough on wallets. Spinach, however, has repeatedly tested higher for pesticide residue by weight than almost any other vegetable.(1) In addition, multiple pesticides tend to be used on spinach. Thus, it is especially worthwhile to purchase organic spinach, which is widely available in supermarkets as well as in health food shops. In contrast, asparagus numbers prominently on the list of foods that regularly show low total concentrations of pesticide residues. We will be making this dish in the next few weeks and eating it on a table by the window while the sun streams through... Spring is coming.